School buses are a primary mode of transportation for transporting children to and from school and school activities. Since school districts are steadily increasing in size due to the consolidation of smaller districts and also due to the increasing number of school closings within districts, school buses are becoming an even more important mode of transporting students as the average distance a student must travel to school is increasing.
Unfortunately, each school year school buses are involved in a number of accidents which injure or kill students. In fact, a recent study by the Kansas Department of Education indicated that 31 school children were killed by school buses in the school year 1977-1978, 38 school children were killed by school buses in the school year 1978-1979, 25 school children were killed by school buses in the school year 1979-1980, 21 school children were killed by school buses in the school year 1980-1981, 26 school children were killed by school buses in the school year 1981-1982 and 17 school children were killed by school buses in the school year 1982-1983. Of these fatalities, a majority of the children were in front of the bus when they were killed. A large number of these accidents occurred when the child fell or stumbled either when he or she was getting off the bus or boarding the bus. The child would end up under the bus and the bus driver would resume operation unaware that the child had fallen under the bus.
Of course, these types of accidents are not limited to school buses, but also occur with other vehicles such as delivery, garbage, dump, and other types of trucks and vans. This invention also has utility on these other types of motor vehicles. The use of the invention on school buses is emphasized herein for purposes of illustration.
It is apparent that there is a need to prevent accidents wherein a child falls underneath a school bus or another motor vehicle and then is run over by that vehicle. This invention fulfills this need in the art, as well as other needs which will become apparent to those skilled in the art once given this disclosure.
Generally speaking, this invention provides a safety device for preventing a motor vehicle from running over an object, the safety device being attachable to the vehicle and comprising a first assembly including first and second members, the members being spaced apart, the second member being pivotably connected to the first member; a safety bar assembly slidably connected to the first assembly; a first mechanism for raising and lowering the safety bar assembly with respect to the first assembly; at least one switch assembly extending between the members; a second mechanism for turning off the motor vehicle, this second mechanism being connected to the switch assembly; wherein when the safety bar assembly is contacted by an object, the second member pivots relative to the first member and causes the switch assembly and the second mechanism to turn off the motor of the motor vehicle.
In certain embodiments of this invention, the members are flat, rectangular plates which are spaced in parallel when the safety device is not in contact with an object. The plate members may be vertically oriented.
In yet other embodiments, the members are two rectangular bars.
In other embodiments, the safety device is attachable to the front bumper of a vehicle. When so attached, the safety device extends forward of the front bumper of the vehicle and provides further cushioning and shock absorption if the vehicle should become involved in a front-end collision.
In further embodiments of this invention, the first assembly includes springs which extend between the two members. The springs bias the second member away from the first member.
In other embodiments of this invention, the second member rotates about a horizontal axis located at its longitudinal center line. When the safety device strikes an object, the bottom half of the second member rotates towards the first member and the top half rotates away from the first member.
In yet other embodiments of this invention, the first mechanism is a power cylinder which is attached to the second member. The power cylinder has an extendible rod which is connected to the safety bar assembly. When the safety bar assembly is contacted by an object, the rigid connection of the extendible rod of the power cylinder to the safety bar assembly causes the power cylinder and second member to pivot about the axis of the second member relative to the first member. The power cylinder may be an air or fluid cylinder.
In other embodiments of this invention, the safety bar assembly has two basic positions, an up position which the safety bar assembly is in when the vehicle is moving, and a down position which the safety bar assembly is in when the vehicle is stopped and children are boarding or disembarking from the school bus. In some embodiments of this invention, the safety bar assembly is moved to the down position whenever the door of the school bus is open. In other embodiments, the safety bar assembly is lowered when the outside stop sign arm of the bus is extended. Springs may be employed to raise the safety bar assembly to the up position from the down position.
The safety devices according to this invention have many advantages over the prior safety devices for preventing a motor vehicle from running over an object. The safety devices according to this invention have particular utility on school buses wherein the devices prevent children from falling underneath a school bus as they are boarding and disembarking from the school bus. The safety bar assembly in the down position has a very low profile with respect to the ground. When the safety bar assembly is in the down position, it is virtually impossible for a child to fall and roll underneath the safety bar assembly due to this low profile.
In addition, since the bus is shut off whenever the safety bar assembly is contacted by an object, the driver cannot inadvertently drive over a child which has contacted the safety bar assembly. Since the bus is shut off, it is impossible for driver ignorance or error to cause the accident.
It is a further advantage of the safety devices according to this invention that they are relatively inexpensive, yet easy to install, service and maintain.
Yet another advantage of this invention is that if the devices according to this invention are connected to the door or extendible stop arm of the bus, the safety bar assembly will automatically drop to its lower position whenever the door is opened or the safety arm extended. This automatic feature again eliminates the chances of driver error as the driver does not have to activate the mechanism each time the bus stops to pick up or drop off children.
It is also an advantage of this invention that the safety bar assembly can be kept in the up position when the bus is being operated in deep snow or mud. Override switches can be provided to maintain the safety bar assembly in the up position.
Moreover, when the safety devices are connected to the door or extendible stop arm of the school buses, the safety bar assembly is in its maximum protection mode (in its low position) during the critical times, that being when children are getting on and off the school bus.
A further advantage of this invention is that the safety devices act as an additional bumper for the vehicle and add additional shock absorbency if the vehicles are struck in the front end. Also, if the safety devices are attached to the front of motor vehicles, the safety devices may deflect objects in the path of the vehicle even when the devices are in their up positions.
A further advantage of this invention is that the safety devices may also be adjusted to prevent the bus from being driven at excess speeds. The safety devices may be adjusted such that the force of the wind resistance on the safety bar assembly may activate the safety device and shut off the bus if the bus is travelling at too high a speed.
Yet another advantage of the safety devices according to this invention is that they are durable and are very reliable. Due to the relative simplicity of the devices, breakdowns are infrequent. Even if such breakdowns occur, switches can be provided to render the bus operative. The entire safety device can be easily removed if necessary and replaced by a new safety device so that the "down time" for the bus is minimal.